1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly to the management of a content file recorded on a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an image recording apparatus using a large-capacity optical disk or flash memory card as an image recording medium has been proposed. A feature of this kind of recording medium is that, during reproduction (playback), random access is possible, similar to a file being accessed in a personal computer (PC), so that any photographed content can swiftly be called up. In many cases, during reproduction, since a reduced image (thumbnail) or a title list indicating photographed content is displayed in a list format, a user seeks out and designates a desirable image from within the display of a list, and performs reproduction thereof (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-41209).
Further, recently, a video camera using such a kind of optical disk and memory card as a recording medium has come on the market. In the video camera, since recording time of a scene to be photographed at one time is on the order of several seconds to several minutes, several tens to several hundreds of image data can be recorded on one recording medium. If a great number of images are recorded in the above manner, it is difficult for the user to seek out an image that the user desires to reproduce.
Hence, it is considered that, as in file management performed by a personal computer (PC), photographed image data are classified and stored using a folder configuration having a plurality of hierarchical layers.
For instance, as shown in FIG. 11, image data photographed at a travel destination are stored in a folder “Hokkaido,” and are further classified into a folder “Rishiri Rebun” in a hierarchical layer lower in level than in that of the folder “Hokkaido.” Thus, a desirable image can easily be searched for.
However, in a recording medium which is not compatible with hierarchical folders, such as a DVD-R (digital versatile disc-recordable) or the like, image data cannot be managed in a format with a plurality of hierarchical layers.
Therefore, if content data managed with a folder configuration having a plurality of hierarchical layers are intended to be copied or moved to another recording medium which cannot be managed with any hierarchical structure, an editing operation on the image is required in some cases. The editing operation is performed such that once content data are taken into a PC, an editing device or the like, the content data is extracted from a folder, or the content data is combined and organized as one content data.
To perform such an operation, the time required to take the content data into the PC or the like is necessary, and the operation is extremely burdensome. In addition, when the user performs a similar editing operation afterwards, the user may not recall an editing process previously performed. Thus, there is also a possibility of causing a different editing result.